The present invention relates to the field of devices for trapping insects, and in particular to an insect lure and trap system that uses a carbon dioxide (CO2) attractant.
It is known to use a carbon dioxide attractant to lure insects into a trap. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,243 entitled “Method and Device Producing CO2 Gas for Trapping Insects” discloses a device for attracting and trapping bothersome flying insects. A problem with this system is that it is manually controlled to turn on and off. Specifically, operation of the system cannot start until the propane-air mixture within a combustion chamber is ignited by a spark. This system is obviously rather cumbersome since it requires manual intervention to initiate system operation. Similarly, the system requires manual intervention to turn the system off. Along with the bothersome requirement of manually turning the system on and off, the system will often undesirably operate when the insects are no longer a factor (e.g., after dark), thus unnecessarily using the propane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,166 also discloses a system that employs carbon dioxide attractant to lure insects into a trap. The system includes a control system that allows a user to program the system to turn-on and off based upon a time schedule, or based upon dawn and dusk as sensed by a photocell. The control system includes electronics that turns on and off the flow of carbon dioxide (CO2) from a tank and releases the CO2 in a constant pulsing pattern to simulate breathing. Specifically, the electronics commands the release of CO2 into the air for a duration of about 100 milliseconds every two seconds to rhythmically raise and lower the concentration of CO2 in the vicinity of the trap, similar to the breathing pattern. The control system drives a solenoid valve that opens and closes a flow path for the CO2. However, a problem with this system is that it operates open loop and does not regulate the flow of CO2. Another problem with this system is that it employs a tank of CO2 to provide the gas, rather than generating the CO2. In addition, the CO2 is at ambient temperature (i.e., the gas is not heated).
Therefore, there is a need for an automatically controlled system that attracts insects using a CO2 attractant, and traps the insects.